Expert Columns

Energy efficiency standards might not make the hottest dinner part topic but they have a huge impact on our daily lives. In this column, Cherylyn Kelley, IMT's Manager, Building Energy Codes and Policy, reviews 2022 highlights and offers insights into what's coming up this year, including federal funding available through the Inflation Reduction Act and updates on the International Energy Conservation Codes (IECC).

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) looks back with pride on the remarkable achievements of 2022 - from huge funding allocations and breakthrough innovations to paradigm-shifting legislation. This column reviews the accomplishments of EERE's core divisions: renewable power, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation.

On December 7, the White House Council on the Environment Quality (CEQ) released the draft rules for performance standards for Federal buildings. In this column, IMT's Amy Boyce explores what the Federal standard aims to achieve, how it compares to other building performance standards, where the standards can go further - and why it matters.

Loews Hotels & Co, operator of 26 hotels and resorts, strives to be an industry leader in environmental sustainability. This column from Better Buildings details the company's pursuit of DOE's 50001 Ready Program for energy management at 11 properties, including the creation of energy management teams at each facility.

Across the country, jurisdictions are passing Building Performance Standards (BPS), also referred to as Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). This column from IMT (Institute for Market Transformation) explains why these relatively new policy tools will become critical to helping building owners achieve greater efficiency, reduce GHG, and meet regulatory compliance requirements, and how the creation of Building Hubs can provide resources central to building energy codes and BPS.

The Life Time Chanhassen, MN Athletic Club reduced energy use intensity by 35% and water use intensity by nearly 60%. This column highlights how this Better Buildings Showcase project implemented a range of electric, natural gas, and water efficiency improvements from 2011 to 2021 to achieve these and other goals.

Despite differences in portfolio size, location, and target market, multifamily housing providers Foundation Communities and Veris Residential have chosen similar paths in pursuit of their sustainability goals. In this column from the Better Climate Challenge (BCC), learn how both companies have committed to cutting their carbon emissions in half and their shared belief in the growing importance of electric vehicles (EVs) to reducing emissions – from residents as well as their own operations.  

In just the past two months, record-shattering torrential rains have wreaked havoc on homes and businesses in Texas, the west coast and the Midwest, along with Pakistan, Australia, China and other parts of the globe. Mindy Lubber, President and CEO of Ceres, explains why these and other financial impacts from the systemic climate trends are hugely relevant as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission considers its next move in its push to significantly strengthen corporate climate disclosure rules.